HAMPTON TWP. -- Phillipsburg junior Brenden Fox, like most backups for the Stateliners, knows that when you're called upon, you need to make the most of an opportunity in what may be a big spot.
Fox did just that, scoring a 9-5 decision in the next-to-last bout to seal Phillipsburg's 39-21 victory over Kittatinny on Thursday night in an independent matchup before an unusually sparse crowd at Kittatinny Regional High School.
"We knew we needed to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss," said Fox, who racked up four takedowns against Kittatinny's regular 120-pounder Mike Nelson. "We couldn't hang our heads. We had to come out strong and prove ourselves."
Phillipsburg (5-1), ranked fifth in the New Jersey Writers Association Top 20, was coming off a tough 38-21 loss to No. 8 Hunterdon Central the previous night in which the 'Liners won just six bouts -- five by regular decisions and one forfeit. Coach Dave Post's team won nine bouts against No. 19 Kittatinny (5-4), including three pins and one technical fall, and finished with a 28-5 edge in takedowns.
Fox and unheralded junior Thomas Abode, who capped a six-bout run for P'burg by decking Brian Hanna (9-7) at 132 to close out the victory, entered the match winless on the varsity level this season with a combined 4-13 career record.
"We had every reason to come out and not perform," said Post, who said the team bus didn't arrive back at P'burg from Hunterdon Central until about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. "They probably didn't get to bad until midnight, and they had to be right back at the same weight as the night before. That's not an easy scenario after a tough loss. This was indicative of what kind of team we are."
Kittatinny coach John Gill, who was without starters Derek Molfetto (shoulder injury) and Shane Smith (illness) at 126 and 160, respectively, was disappointed with losing the takedown battle by such a wide margin, but he thought most of his wrestlers performed well in some tough spots.
"I got everything I could ask for out of these kids. We had a lot kids who fought hard," said Gill, now 6-17 all-time vs. P'burg in a series that began in 1994. "In this area, we used to be way better [on our feet]. The takedowns aren't coming."
Phillipsburg jumped out to an 11-3 win through four bouts, thanks to solid decisions by Kyle Tino (138) and Cody Harrison (145).
Tino spotted an early takedown off a dump before going on to rack up six of his own to prevail in a 16-10 war with Mike Callahan. Harrison (14-2), who placed eighth in the state last season, got three takedowns in a 6-2 win over Perry Maio.
Kittatinny, which has now lost to four state-ranked teams, including Hanover Park, Howell and Hunterdon Central, was able to make this one interesting with close wins at 152, 170 and 195.
Senior Calvin Brook countered an attempt by Phillipsburg junior Jayson Zinsmeister for a decisive third-period takedown in a 3-2 win at 152, while Kittatinny senior Josh Hiler hit a headlock for four points off a throw attempt by Lance Wissing in the first period en route to a 7-4 win at 170. In between, P'burg state third-place finisher Brian Meyer racked up a 15-0 technical fall win at 160.
"Calvin Brook wrestled his best match in high school," Gill said. "Connors saved us a point there, and Hiler wrestled a really good kid."
Post opted to give a forfeit win to junior Zach Mafaro at 182, giving Kittatinny its first lead (12-11) through six bouts. Freshman Jackson Crawn followed with a 1-0 decision over Austin Roth, who opted to give Crawn an escape point to start the third period. Sophomore Jacob Mafaro's pin of Shamyr Brodders -- normally a 182-pounder -- in 30 seconds at 220 gave the Cougars a 10-point advantage and got the home crowd buzzing, but it was their final victory as the Stateliners won the last six bouts.
"We were trying something new with the lineup, but we put Shamyr in a tough position," Post said. "He weighed 178 [on Wednesday] and we told him he had to weigh above 184 to wrestle 220. He weighed 185.3 tonight. That's a credit to our guys who want to help the team."
Patrick Sharpe (285), Logan Maczko (106), Cullen Day (113) and Travis Jones (120) won for P'burg as expected before Fox and Abode sealed it.
"The coaches told me not to get in any bad situations and that [Nelson] was beatable," Fox said. "I just had the mindset to keep attacking. I knew my shots were opening up for me and I had the confidence in my double-leg takedowns."
PHILLIPSBURG 39, KITTATINNY 21
138 -- Jr. Kyle Tino (7-3), P, d. Sr. Mike Callahan (11-5), 16-10.
145 -- Jr. Cody Harrison (14-2), P, d. Sr. Perry Maio (10-7), 6-2.
152 -- Sr. Calvin Brook (11-4), K, d. Jr. Jayson Zinsmeister (9-6), 3-2.
160 -- Sr. Brian Meyer (12-2), P, tf. Sr. Billy Connors (1-1), 15-0, 3:37.
170 -- Sr. Josh Hiler (11-3), K, d. Sr. Lance Wissing (17-3), 7-4.
182 -- Jr. Zach Mafaro (12-2), K, forfeit.
195 -- Fr. Jackson Crawn (10-5), K, d. Jr. Austin Roth (5-5), 1-0.
220 -- So. Jacob Mafaro (12-2), K, p. Sr. Shamyr Brodders (4-9), :30.
285 -- Sr. Patrick Sharpe (12-5), P, p. Jr. Mike Lacken (0-11), 3:18.
106 -- Fr. Logan Maczko (9-6), P, d. Fr. Patrick Franco (6-9), 8-2.
113 -- Sr. Cullen Day (12-4), P, p. Fr. Connor Hanna (0-3), 1:17.
120 -- Jr. Travis Jones (14-4), P, md. Jr. Nile Mattar (4-8), 10-1.
126 -- Jr. Brenden Fox (1-3), P, d. Jr. Mike Nelson (7-7), 9-5.
132 -- Jr. Thomas Abode (1-2), P, p. Jr. Brian Hanna (9-7), 3:34.
Records -- Phillipsburg 5-1; Kittatinny 5-4.
Officials -- Gary Kessel and Gary Szucs.
No comments:
Post a Comment